On The Map

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

The Map Makers

20100322

20130924 (BBC7)
20150615 (BBC7)
20150616 (BBC7)
20170612 (BBC7)
20170613 (BBC7)
20190218 (BBC7)
20190219 (BBC7)
20240415 (BBC7)

Self-confessed map addict Mike Parker explores modern cartography. If a picture paints a thousand words, a map can paint a million. They help us navigate our way through unfamiliar landscapes and cities, entice us into new places and give us a bigger picture of the world we inhabit.

Mike considers the maps he first fell in love with as a teenager - Ordnance Survey maps.

Mike Parker explores the maps he fell in love with as a teenager - Ordnance Survey maps.

Producer: Jeremy Grange

Self-confessed map addict Mike Parker explores cartography, starting with a teenage love, Ordnance Survey maps. From 2010.

Mapping The Metropolis

20100323

20130925 (BBC7)
20150616 (BBC7)
20150617 (BBC7)
20170613 (BBC7)
20170614 (BBC7)
20190219 (BBC7)
20190220 (BBC7)
20240416 (BBC7)

How do you make sense of a strange city and turn a bewildering maze of streets into a map that's instantly informative to a confused visitor? Mike Parker hits the city streets to find out what makes the ideal map for steering us through the urban jungle. He meets the man who has made it his mission to single-handedly create a new map of Manchester, and discovers how digesting the entire London A to Z makes cabbies' brains bigger.

Mike Parker finds out what makes the ideal map for steering us through the urban jungle.

Producer: Jeremy Grange

Cartography addict Mike Parker finds out what makes the ideal map for steering us through the urban jungle. From 2010.

Motoring Maps

20100324

20130926 (BBC7)
20150617 (BBC7)
20150618 (BBC7)
20170614 (BBC7)
20170615 (BBC7)
20190220 (BBC7)
20190221 (BBC7)
20240417 (BBC7)

The ultimate in cheap and ubiquitous mapping, there's scarcely a vehicle in the land that doesn't contain a dog-eared road atlas. Road maps and their digital descendent, the sat nav, may guide us efficiently around our nation's highways but they don't tell us much else about the landscape we're speeding through. Mike recalls a bygone age of elegant motoring maps and considers how modern road mapping and its unrelenting emphasis on our motorways and trunk roads has changed our picture of Britain.

In exploration of cartography, Mike Parker recalls a bygone age of elegant motoring maps.

Producer: Jeremy Grange

In his exploration of modern cartography, Mike Parker recalls a bygone age of elegant motoring maps. From 2010.

Social Mapping

20100325

20130927 (BBC7)
20150618 (BBC7)
20150619 (BBC7)
20170615 (BBC7)
20170616 (BBC7)
20190221 (BBC7)
20190222 (BBC7)
20240418 (BBC7)

There's no more effective way of representing our lives than a map: social and political conditions, health trends and the movements of goods and ideas have far greater impact when they're plotted in multicoloured cartography. Mike asks how society is now being analysed online in cartographic mash-ups and crowd-sourced data. He also discovers how mapping the human condition, its needs and habits, its highs and its lows, goes back to way before the digital age.

Producer: Jeremy Grange

Mike Parker investigates how society is now being analysed online in cartographic mash-ups and crowd-sourced data. From 2010.

The Lie Of The Land

20100326

20130930 (BBC7)
20150619 (BBC7)
20150620 (BBC7)
20170616 (BBC7)
20170617 (BBC7)
20190222 (BBC7)
20190223 (BBC7)
20240419 (BBC7)

There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and then there are maps. Borders can be moved and countries expanded, shrunk or even left off the map altogether. We'd like to believe that maps are a purely factual representation of the world with no bias or agenda, but in fact every cartographer decides what to include on their map and what to exclude. Mike Parker discovers how maps can be used as tools of power, politics and propaganda.

Producer: Jeremy Grange

Modern cartography addict Mike Parker discovers how maps can be used as tools of power, politics and propaganda. From 2010.

World View

20100329

20131001 (BBC7)
20150622 (BBC7)
20150623 (BBC7)
20170619 (BBC7)
20170620 (BBC7)
20190225 (BBC7)
20190226 (BBC7)
20240422 (BBC7)

World View. Mike Parker considers the picture that maps and atlases give us of the wider world and our place in it. He discovers how cartographers always have to keep one eye on the map and the other on the news as territorial disputes rage, borders change and new countries emerge. And he visits Jan Morris to look through a collection of maps and atlases accumulated over sixty years of travel writing.

Cartographers always have to keep one eye on the map and one on new territorial disputes.

Producer: Jeremy Grange

Mike Parker discovers how cartographers always keep one eye on the map and the other on new territorial disputes. From 2010.

Off The Map

20100330

20131002 (BBC7)
20150623 (BBC7)
20150624 (BBC7)
20170620 (BBC7)
20170621 (BBC7)
20190226 (BBC7)
20190227 (BBC7)
20240423 (BBC7)

Off the Map. The first step to success in any military campaign is a good map. During the Second World War, intelligence officers prepared meticulously detailed maps for the D-Day landings using a combination of aerial photography, old tourist guides and holiday snaps. Mike Parker discovers how Germany, and later the Soviet Union, compiled maps of Britain often more detailed than our own. And he visits a Cold War nuclear bunker, one of the many sites that until recently were simply blank spaces on Ordnance Survey maps.

Mike Parker visits a Cold War military site that was once a blank space on a map.

Producer: Jeremy Grange

Mike Parker investigates Cold War military sites that were once just blank spaces on Ordnance Survey maps. From 2010.

Whose Map Is It Anyway?

20100331

20131003 (BBC7)
20150624 (BBC7)
20150625 (BBC7)
20170621 (BBC7)
20170622 (BBC7)
20190227 (BBC7)
20190228 (BBC7)
20240424 (BBC7)

Whose Map Is It Anyway? Thanks to Ordnance Survey, the landscape of the British Isles is probably the most comprehensively mapped of any in the world. But pressure is growing for OS to waive their copyright and make their cartographic data free to use for all-comers. Mike Parker asks whether the UK's mapping agency can maintain its hold on the national topography - and its reputation.

Mike Parker asks if Ordnance Survey can maintain its hold on the national topography.

Producer: Jeremy Grange

Mike Parkers asks whether, in a digital world, the Ordnance Survey can maintain its hold on the national topography. From 2010.

Digital Maps

20100401

20131004 (BBC7)
20150625 (BBC7)
20150626 (BBC7)
20170622 (BBC7)
20170623 (BBC7)
20190228 (BBC7)
20190301 (BBC7)
20240425 (BBC7)

Digital Maps. Who needs traditional paper maps any more when you can download all the maps you need from the internet? Mike Parker looks at cartography in the digital age and asks whether internet mapping and satellite navigation are actually destroying good map-making and map-reading.

Mike Parker looks at cartography in the digital age and asks if the paper map can survive.

Producer: Jeremy Grange

Mike Parker investigates whether digital map and satellite navigation are destroying good map-making and map-reading. From 2010.

Maps Of The Mind

20100402

20131007 (BBC7)
20150626 (BBC7)
20150627 (BBC7)
20170623 (BBC7)
20170624 (BBC7)
20190301 (BBC7)
20190302 (BBC7)
20240426 (BBC7)

Maps of the Mind. The most powerful maps aren't found on paper or a computer screen. They're the maps we hold in our memories and imaginations. Mike Parker visits a primary school in his home town to compare the pupils' maps with his own, drawn from childhood recollection. And he takes a trip to Ambridge, home of the Archers, to meet Eddie Grundy and ask him for directions around the village.

Mike Parker visits Ambridge, home of the Archers, to explore maps of the imagination.

Producer: Jeremy Grange

Mike Parker visits his home town and Ambridge, home of the Archers, to explore maps of the imagination. From 2010.

Episodes

Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
01	The Map Makers	20100322	20130924 (BBC7) 20150615 (BBC7) 20150616 (BBC7) 20170612 (BBC7) 20170613 (BBC7) 20190218 (BBC7) 20190219 (BBC7) 20240415 (BBC7)	Self-confessed map addict Mike Parker explores modern cartography. If a picture paints a thousand words, a map can paint a million. They help us navigate our way through unfamiliar landscapes and cities, entice us into new places and give us a bigger picture of the world we inhabit. Mike considers the maps he first fell in love with as a teenager - Ordnance Survey maps. Mike Parker explores the maps he fell in love with as a teenager - Ordnance Survey maps. Producer: Jeremy Grange Self-confessed map addict Mike Parker explores cartography, starting with a teenage love, Ordnance Survey maps. From 2010.
02	Mapping The Metropolis	20100323	20130925 (BBC7) 20150616 (BBC7) 20150617 (BBC7) 20170613 (BBC7) 20170614 (BBC7) 20190219 (BBC7) 20190220 (BBC7) 20240416 (BBC7)	How do you make sense of a strange city and turn a bewildering maze of streets into a map that's instantly informative to a confused visitor? Mike Parker hits the city streets to find out what makes the ideal map for steering us through the urban jungle. He meets the man who has made it his mission to single-handedly create a new map of Manchester, and discovers how digesting the entire London A to Z makes cabbies' brains bigger. Mike Parker finds out what makes the ideal map for steering us through the urban jungle. Producer: Jeremy Grange Cartography addict Mike Parker finds out what makes the ideal map for steering us through the urban jungle. From 2010.
03	Motoring Maps	20100324	20130926 (BBC7) 20150617 (BBC7) 20150618 (BBC7) 20170614 (BBC7) 20170615 (BBC7) 20190220 (BBC7) 20190221 (BBC7) 20240417 (BBC7)	The ultimate in cheap and ubiquitous mapping, there's scarcely a vehicle in the land that doesn't contain a dog-eared road atlas. Road maps and their digital descendent, the sat nav, may guide us efficiently around our nation's highways but they don't tell us much else about the landscape we're speeding through. Mike recalls a bygone age of elegant motoring maps and considers how modern road mapping and its unrelenting emphasis on our motorways and trunk roads has changed our picture of Britain. In exploration of cartography, Mike Parker recalls a bygone age of elegant motoring maps. Producer: Jeremy Grange In his exploration of modern cartography, Mike Parker recalls a bygone age of elegant motoring maps. From 2010.
04	Social Mapping	20100325	20130927 (BBC7) 20150618 (BBC7) 20150619 (BBC7) 20170615 (BBC7) 20170616 (BBC7) 20190221 (BBC7) 20190222 (BBC7) 20240418 (BBC7)	There's no more effective way of representing our lives than a map: social and political conditions, health trends and the movements of goods and ideas have far greater impact when they're plotted in multicoloured cartography. Mike asks how society is now being analysed online in cartographic mash-ups and crowd-sourced data. He also discovers how mapping the human condition, its needs and habits, its highs and its lows, goes back to way before the digital age. Producer: Jeremy Grange Mike Parker investigates how society is now being analysed online in cartographic mash-ups and crowd-sourced data. From 2010.
05	The Lie Of The Land	20100326	20130930 (BBC7) 20150619 (BBC7) 20150620 (BBC7) 20170616 (BBC7) 20170617 (BBC7) 20190222 (BBC7) 20190223 (BBC7) 20240419 (BBC7)	There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and then there are maps. Borders can be moved and countries expanded, shrunk or even left off the map altogether. We'd like to believe that maps are a purely factual representation of the world with no bias or agenda, but in fact every cartographer decides what to include on their map and what to exclude. Mike Parker discovers how maps can be used as tools of power, politics and propaganda. Producer: Jeremy Grange Modern cartography addict Mike Parker discovers how maps can be used as tools of power, politics and propaganda. From 2010.
06	World View	20100329	20131001 (BBC7) 20150622 (BBC7) 20150623 (BBC7) 20170619 (BBC7) 20170620 (BBC7) 20190225 (BBC7) 20190226 (BBC7) 20240422 (BBC7)	World View. Mike Parker considers the picture that maps and atlases give us of the wider world and our place in it. He discovers how cartographers always have to keep one eye on the map and the other on the news as territorial disputes rage, borders change and new countries emerge. And he visits Jan Morris to look through a collection of maps and atlases accumulated over sixty years of travel writing. Cartographers always have to keep one eye on the map and one on new territorial disputes. Producer: Jeremy Grange Mike Parker discovers how cartographers always keep one eye on the map and the other on new territorial disputes. From 2010.
07	Off The Map	20100330	20131002 (BBC7) 20150623 (BBC7) 20150624 (BBC7) 20170620 (BBC7) 20170621 (BBC7) 20190226 (BBC7) 20190227 (BBC7) 20240423 (BBC7)	Off the Map. The first step to success in any military campaign is a good map. During the Second World War, intelligence officers prepared meticulously detailed maps for the D-Day landings using a combination of aerial photography, old tourist guides and holiday snaps. Mike Parker discovers how Germany, and later the Soviet Union, compiled maps of Britain often more detailed than our own. And he visits a Cold War nuclear bunker, one of the many sites that until recently were simply blank spaces on Ordnance Survey maps. Mike Parker visits a Cold War military site that was once a blank space on a map. Producer: Jeremy Grange Mike Parker investigates Cold War military sites that were once just blank spaces on Ordnance Survey maps. From 2010.
08	Whose Map Is It Anyway?	20100331	20131003 (BBC7) 20150624 (BBC7) 20150625 (BBC7) 20170621 (BBC7) 20170622 (BBC7) 20190227 (BBC7) 20190228 (BBC7) 20240424 (BBC7)	Whose Map Is It Anyway? Thanks to Ordnance Survey, the landscape of the British Isles is probably the most comprehensively mapped of any in the world. But pressure is growing for OS to waive their copyright and make their cartographic data free to use for all-comers. Mike Parker asks whether the UK's mapping agency can maintain its hold on the national topography - and its reputation. Mike Parker asks if Ordnance Survey can maintain its hold on the national topography. Producer: Jeremy Grange Mike Parkers asks whether, in a digital world, the Ordnance Survey can maintain its hold on the national topography. From 2010.
09	Digital Maps	20100401	20131004 (BBC7) 20150625 (BBC7) 20150626 (BBC7) 20170622 (BBC7) 20170623 (BBC7) 20190228 (BBC7) 20190301 (BBC7) 20240425 (BBC7)	Digital Maps. Who needs traditional paper maps any more when you can download all the maps you need from the internet? Mike Parker looks at cartography in the digital age and asks whether internet mapping and satellite navigation are actually destroying good map-making and map-reading. Mike Parker looks at cartography in the digital age and asks if the paper map can survive. Producer: Jeremy Grange Mike Parker investigates whether digital map and satellite navigation are destroying good map-making and map-reading. From 2010.
10	Maps Of The Mind	20100402	20131007 (BBC7) 20150626 (BBC7) 20150627 (BBC7) 20170623 (BBC7) 20170624 (BBC7) 20190301 (BBC7) 20190302 (BBC7) 20240426 (BBC7)	Maps of the Mind. The most powerful maps aren't found on paper or a computer screen. They're the maps we hold in our memories and imaginations. Mike Parker visits a primary school in his home town to compare the pupils' maps with his own, drawn from childhood recollection. And he takes a trip to Ambridge, home of the Archers, to meet Eddie Grundy and ask him for directions around the village. Mike Parker visits Ambridge, home of the Archers, to explore maps of the imagination. Producer: Jeremy Grange Mike Parker visits his home town and Ambridge, home of the Archers, to explore maps of the imagination. From 2010.